The Trust Crisis
Imagine walking into a store where the salesperson refuses to make eye contact, tell you their name or what they do, or answer basic questions about the business.
You’d likely walk right out.
Yet online, countless companies do exactly this by burying their About pages in footer links or filling them with corporate jargon.
The cost? Massive.
Studies show 52% of visitors seek out About pages first, and 59% won’t buy from brands they don’t trust. In an era of deepfakes, scams, and AI-generated content, your About page isn’t just another tab – it’s your digital handshake with potential customers.
Yet most companies treat the page as an afterthought. Sometimes, they even hide it in footer links next to privacy policies and terms of service.
This disconnect isn’t just bad design; it’s reducing sales.
The Neuroscience of Trust
What happens in your brain when you land on a new website? Within milliseconds, your amygdala – the brain’s threat detection center – goes on high alert.
Why? Because evolution has wired us to be deeply suspicious of unfamiliar situations.
This is why visitors frantically search for trust signals.
Research shows that our brains release oxytocin – the “trust hormone” – when we recognize authentic and genuine human elements in digital interactions.
It’s the same chemical response that helps us build trust in face-to-face meetings.
Think of the difference between walking into Harrods versus approaching a street vendor. In the physical world, our brains process thousands of subtle trust signals: the building’s permanence, the number of staff and their uniforms, other shoppers’ behavior and more.
Online, we’re stripped of these instinctive trust mechanisms.
And there’s little to differentiate the honest from the crooks.
That’s where the About page comes in.
The About page is not just a formality to share a few random facts about ourselves; it’s an extremely important piece of marketing.
It’s a chance to reassure your visitor that you’re decent, honest, knowledgeable, and safe to deal with.
It’s a fantastic opportunity.
The Psychology of First Impressions
Looking at an assortment of random websites, it appears that few consider the About page important.
In fact many websites push their About page link to the right side of the top nav.
Sometimes it’s next to their Privacy Policy — because everyone reads that.
And some websites only include it at the very bottom of the page — on the footer nav, the place where links are left to die.
This is a huge mistake and a missed opportunity.
Your website visitor won’t judge you by your fancy logo, colour scheme or clever animated slider.
They need more substance. And we’re all wired to judge.
When making a decision online or offline, we seek human signals to determine trust and reduce uncertainty.
Is your About page providing these signals?
Bridging the Trust Gap
You likely remember considering an online purchase and researching the company or product for peace of mind.
Searching for the company on Trustpilot, reading Amazon reviews or checking Reddit. However we choose to do it, this has become standard behaviour.
A recent article on purchasing in the digital age suggests that consumer uncertainty in online shopping primarily stems from a lack of physical presence and personal interaction with sellers.
Why is this an issue?
Because despite our online shopping experience, humans are best suited to interacting with other humans.
It doesn’t matter if a person doesn’t like interacting with other carbon-based lifeforms – we’re designed to do so.
That’s where the About page steps in.
But even the best About page can’t provide all the reassurance a visitor wants.
There’s no absolute certainty – but you can edge closer
A well-designed About page, however, can reduce uncertainty, with honesty, transparency, evidence of expertise and more. We’ll get into these shortly.
Importantly, it isn’t about one single point, item or statement that will win the visitor over.
Consider two people who meet online and have their first face-to-face meeting or date.
They’re likely looking for signals or clues based on appearance: dress, manner, confidence, looks, height, cleanliness, interest, attractiveness and more.
No single factor will decide whether the relationship may have a future.
A good About page should provide these clear, strong signals. And as many of them as possible.
Focus on why someone goes to your About page
They go for two reasons. They’re at least considering working with you, and they’re looking for reassurance.
According to an article by Business Dasher, 52% of people want to see the “About Us” page first when they arrive.
And a staggering 31% of people say that a website’s “About Us” page is the most important part.
Need more convincing?
A study by Shopify found that 59% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they trust. And that an About page is vital in building this trust.
Why is that?
The answer boils down to a wonderful mix of psychology, fear and human behaviour.
At the most basic level, who are you and can they trust you?
If you accept that this is what they’re looking for, does your own About page rise to the challenge?
What they’re looking for
They’re looking for signals. Reassurance that what they hope about you is true.
They’re at least partly sold on what you’re selling.
But they need proof about you.
- That they can trust you.
- That you have what they need.
- That you’re good at what you do.
- That you understand their pain.
- That your business is genuine.
- That you treat your customers well.
All are vital.
If you achieve these aims, you significantly lower their resistance to trusting you enough to reach for their credit card.
Mistaken About
The list of frequent mistakes is enormous, but one of the most common is to have a page that says almost nothing.
Nothing about who you are, how trustworthy you are, and why I should part with my money.
Some pages talk about themselves, which is another mistake.
I know. It’s an About page.
But you shouldn’t talk endlessly about you, how great you are, your vision for the world, your company’s mission or your beliefs.
In the real world, we’ve all met someone like that. And the experience is never pleasant.
Make About you about me.
- Don’t talk about yourself – talk about how you can help me
- I don’t care how great you think you are – I care about what you can do for me
- I couldn’t care less about your mission – I want to know how your company can help me
- I don’t care about your self-belief – but want to know how others believe in you
Aanother common omission by so many About pages is personality.
Imagine we meet at a conference and have a casual getting-to-know-each-other conversation.
Most people understand the importance of first impressions and will try to represent themselves well.
Good strategies for these situations include being interested, personable, friendly and respectful.
In other words showing you’re interested in me, being interesting to me, friendly towards me and showing a certain amount of common decency.
But unless it’s going to be one of those conversations, the overall tone has to be interesting. If you come across as boring, self-obsessed and bland, I’ll go looking for more interesting conversations elsewhere.
And everyone, without fail, has something interesting to talk about.
Marvin from accounts may wear the same bland corporate uniform as the rest of his company, and his views on spreadsheets, databases and AI can bore most people to tears. But get him talking about his ice sculpting of rock legends and his true personality will shine out.
Does your About page mutter blandness or scream personality?
The Social Media thing
I wasn’t sure whether to include this issue or not.
Conventional wisdom suggests including links to your social media accounts for social proof.
The idea is that a person arrives at your website, explores what you do, clicks on the social media icon on your page and is impressed. They then return to your website, credit card in hand.
This idea overlooks a reality – that the social media websites are designed to keep people there as long as possible. Unlike the rest of the web, they’ll be filled with information, facts, people and ideas that they’re interested in.
So it takes a degree of willpower to pull themselves away, and back to your website.
They might do so, but there’s a very real chance that they’ll be sucked into the social media vortex of forgotten ideas and missed opportunities.
Is the potential benefit of social media worth taking that risk?
Getting it right – do this today (really)
The About page shouldn’t be a formality.
It can be a vital part of your website’s marketing, significantly impacting sales.
Unlike many other marketing issues or opportunities, you can significantly improve your existing page in a few minutes.
Try these basic guidelines:
- Remember your About Us isn’t about you – it’s about them.
- Wrap your story around the unmistakable shape of reassurance.
- Use photos of you and your team.
- Think what else they may be looking for.
- Decide what you need to say, and say it properly.
If you approach your About page as a chance to reassure the undecided, you can only gain.
- Trustworthiness
- Expertise
- Likability
- Human
- Authentic
Start gaining. What does your website really look like?
